A Very Special Relationship
by Stormy-chan59
Summary: AU: Matthew is desperately looking for someone who can understand his miserable situation and maybe give him some advice. However, what he finds instead isn't all that unsatisfying. PruCan


Summary: Matthew is desperately looking for someone who can understand his miserable situation and maybe give him some advice. However, what he finds instead isn't all that unsatisfying. PruCan

Rated: T for swearing

Disclaimer: Hetalia is not mine. Only the plot of this little one-shot is. The rest belongs to the awesome Hidekaz Himaruya-sensei.

Author's Note: A One-Shot that took me a whole eternity. Or two, not quite sure. But, whatever. Just read and review if you feel like it, I'd be happy if you do xD If you happen to find grammar or spelling or punctuation mistakes, which is very likely to happen since I'm German and so English is obviously not my native tongue, just point them out to me and I'll fix them. As usual, I'm not too happy with how this turned out (in my opinion, it definitely fails). I never seem to be. So sorry if it sucks...

**A Very Special Relationship**

"_You make me feel like a lavender sweater  
When I'm caught in bad weather,  
In my Volkswagen Jetta_

_You make me feel like a complete work of art  
When I'm just falling apart  
A really nice piece of art" (FM Static – Nice Piece Of Art)_

"_You are pretty cute." was the first sentence Gilbert said when he and Mattie had their first "real" conversation. The young Canadian would never forget that._

He was desperate. Lost in a confusing world that only consisted of his loneliness and the regular depressions which he suffered from. Outside of his room, everything was black for him. Evil, unhealthy, destructive. Yeah, destructive was the right word to describe how it felt. It destroyed everything within him, crushed his feelings, his thoughts, his wishes, dreams, hopes...

The world outside hated him. It just didn't want to give him a chance at life or how it was really supposed to be.

Each time he set foot into the mess that was his social environment, he got shoved out again and the door was slammed in his face. The persons he knew refused to accept his existence. He called them "persons" because he couldn't say that any of them were particularly close to him. Their names were all he knew. And they didn't even bother to remember his. He sometimes wondered if there was someone who erased him from their memories, just to torture and see how he broke.

This was his last chance and he decided that, if it was no use, he would quit with life. Break up their so-called relationship, cut every single string that attached him to the living world. Life was an abusive partner anyway, always taking and never giving anything in return other than slaps in the face or punches to the gut.

Matthew Williams was a 17-year-old Canadian boy who was severely addicted to Hockey and pancakes covered, no, drenched in maple syrup. If asked, he would usually describe himself as an "ordinary, calm guy who just wanted to reach something in life." Matthew was neither shy nor solitary as his teachers saw him, but he was never given the chance to prove that and since he had no friends and spent most of his free-time alone in his room, there were no other people that could correct this mistake.

When he had coincidentally heard about this special website where people who needed help could talk openly and freely about their problems and ask others with similar experiences for advice, Mattie had started to hope again.

Maybe this would change his miserable situation.

So he settled for a user-name (_MapleSyrupAddicted_) and checked the different chat-rooms from which he could chose. One was labelled "Mental Diseases" another went under the beautiful name of "Difficulties Concerning Your (Non-)Existent Love Life" .

The blonde sighed because, no, "Sexual Orientation" wasn't his thing, either. He already knew he was gay, so he ignored that and skipped on to the next one. "Social Outcasts". Mattie smiled slightly and clicked on it. That should do.

A white window opened and his computer stated that three persons including him were online.

_IAmPrussian19_ and _TheRedForce_. Who were obviously busy with discussing.

_TheRedForce_: Really, da?

_IAmPrussian19_: Yeah. I am definitely not interested in joining a communist party, okay? That's just not awesome. By the way, it looks like you scared all the other lonely guys away, so shut up! And don't even think about asking _MapleSyrupAddicted, _got it? You're so un-awesome...

Surprise made Mattie's eyebrows go up. Someone actually noticed him!

_TheRedForce_: Do you want to become one with the red force, MSA da?

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: Definitely not.

_IAmPrussian19_: Told you so. No one who is still in his right mind would want THAT.

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: I agree.

_TheRedForce_: That's so sad...Now I have to go and ask somewhere else, da...

_IAmPrussian19_: Yeah, go and do that.

_TheRedForce_: Bye

A second later his computer informed him that _TheRedForce _had left the chat-room.

_IAmPrussian19_: So, what are you here for?

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: Well...

_IAmPrussian19_: Yeah? Come on, spill it. I spent the whole night trying to get rid of that Russian bastard.

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: If it's night already in wherever you are, where are you from then?

_IAmPrussian19_: Don't switch topics, my dear. And my name should tell you enough about my whereabouts.

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: But I thought Prussia got dissolved after WW2?

_IAmPrussian19_: Fine, you're right. But my ancestors were all Prussians. Some of them even knew Friedrich II. Ain't that awesome? And right now, I'm in good old Germany.

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: I'm Canadian.

_IAmPrussian19_: AND WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?

_MapleSyrupAddicted_: Why don't you tell me first?

_IAmPrussian19_: Fine.

And that's how it all started.

They chatted without interruption and "Gilbert" even skipped school the next day.

Gilbert had told the Canadian about himself and had gotten a lot of info about the other in return.

Gilbert was a 19-year-old German who currently visited a "Gymnasium" in Berlin. The word confused Mattie at first, but then he was taught that it equalled "High-School".

He'd had trouble with alcohol after his ex-girlfriend had told him that she only dated him because she was in love with his cousin, "a sissy, a poor excuse for an Austrian, a wannabe pianist, the probably stingiest man alive, has an ugly name, I mean, who would want to be called "Roderich""...and so on and so on. Gilbert seemed to never get tired of insulting people or of praising "his awesome self", but Mattie didn't mind. In truth he found that side of the "Prussian" rather amusing.

He had drunk himself into oblivion and nearly got arrested when the police caught him buying cocaine.

"That day, my little brother Ludwig beat me up so badly I thought I'd end up in hospital for good. I'm still not entirely sure if I should be thankful or hate him for it. Well, since I didn't take the drugs, I guess I should be thankful..."

When Mattie had asked him what had made him a social outcast, Gilbert had hesitated at first, but then told him the rest of the story.

The Prussian had been homophobic all his life and so it had hit him all the harder when he'd found out after breaking up with Elizaveta, that he had a crush on his little brother's boyfriend, a happy-go-lucky Italian boy.

He told Mattie about how he hadn't been able and still wasn't, to deal with neither his brother's nor the Italian's presence and ended up shutting himself off in his room from the rest of the world.

There, he'd spend his time brooding with his beer as reliable companion and getting into fights with all the people that tried to help him somehow. His two best friends had cut off the contact and he'd said he was fine with that because he couldn't stand being in a room only with other boys around. It made him feel sick and disgusted about himself. Also, he had threatened his PE-teacher so that he could skip the lessons. Alone in a changing room or a shower with other boys? Naked? That had never been a problem for him, but now it was his biggest fear. The others would find out that Gilbert Beilschmidt was gay and that would be "just so fucking un-awesome."

His daily routine was: get up, dressed and ready for school, go to school, go home, laze around in his room, eat stuff, watch TV or surf the web while drinking a crate of beer and, at last, go to bed. His grades were alright and he was sure he'd pass his university-entrance diploma next year. What he was not so sure of was the answer to the question whether he'd still be alive by then. Because his life was all fucked up and he knew that even though parts of that were his own fault, it just wasn't fair. But, as Mattie stated, "life is never fair."

Mattie himself almost felt ashamed, his problems were so much less drastic and didn't even involve alcohol or drugs. Yet here he was, thinking about suicide and if anyone would cry if he wasn't there anymore. Probably not.

Gilbert "listened" to Mattie complaining about his life and in the Prussian's opinion, the Canadian had every right to be depressed.

The poor boy was either ignored or confused with his brother. And since his brother seemed to be such a jerk, most people hated him. And so Mattie, if he was noticed by his surroundings, got either beaten up or forgotten after a short period of time and had to watch the others having fun talking to each other, playing games or worse, watch them kissing and generally being in love while no one noticed him enough to ask if, maybe, he wanted to hang out or go on a date.

Soon the talks the two of them shared evolved to a regular event in their lives.

Mattie had thought that Gilbert would forget him for sure, but he didn't. Every day at their agreed time, they met in the chat room and told each other about their day.

It was a lifeline the both of them could cling to, something that somehow managed to get them trough their otherwise empty, luckless lives.

Even though they were so far apart, they got closer and closer, felt like they knew each other for years.

And then, one day, completely out of the blue, Gilbert asked Mattie:

_IAmPrussian19: _So Mattie, do you have Skype?

_MapleSyrupAddicted: _Eh...

_IAmPrussian19: _Come on, yes or no? Because I do.

_MapleSyrupAddicted: _…

_IAmPrussian19: _We could have awesome conversations via video call, don't you agree?

_MapleSyrupAddicted: …_

_IAmPrussian19: _Please? The awesome me won't laugh at you if you look ugly.

_MapleSyrupAddicted: _I do.

_IAmPrussian19: _What, you look ugly?

_MapleSyrupAddicted:_ …Sigh. No, I do have Skype. Happy now?

_IAmPrussian19: _Oh, is there someone sulking in his emo-corner? Cause you fucking sound like that right now.

_MapleSyrupAddicted: _Hahaha. For your information, no I'm not sulking. Just...contemplating if you're really worth the attention I give you. Because you keep insulting and making fun of me.

_IAmPrussian19: _Ouch, that hurt. Okay, I'm sorry. But it's awesome that you have Skype. I'll look you up, wait a minute.

So their chat conversations moved on to something more serious, more personal. Maybe more intimate if you will. Mattie felt positively uncomfortable as he logged himself in on his Skype-Account, his whole body tense and he hesitated a second before his shaking finger hit the last key to complete his password. Kumajiro, like his stuffed animal polar bear he cuddled with every night since he had gotten him as a present from his father Arthur for his fourth birthday. It was the last present he ever received, after that his birthdays were regularly forgotten. He always used that password, for all of his internet activities.

Mattie was totally nervous, what would Gilbert be like? And what would he look like? And the most important question of all: How would he react to Mattie when they finally could talk face to face?

Gilbert had already added him to his contacts.

A few moments later, he could see Gilbert's face on his screen...and was stunned into silence.

The Prussian was incredibly handsome with his silverish hair and those beautiful, impressive scarlet eyes...His skin was colourless, the expression on his features indifferent, yet somewhat lonesome and...cute. The Canadian was shocked about his own thoughts.

If they shared any kind of relationship, it was a friendly, but by no means romantic one.

He didn't even know if Gilbert really was what he pretended to be, it was still possible that he had only told lies about himself to appear more interesting.

When they had first started to get in contact with each other, Mattie had feared that the other would use all he knew about him to get to him, use him, maybe he was one of those people that liked to harass others over the internet, scarring them with psychological methods, insulting them and trying to destroy their victim's self confidence. Possibly even stalking them and attempting to drive them into committing suicide.

Now all those fears were revived just by looking at Gilbert's devilishly handsome face, into those eyes that could mean his downfall. Not that it would take much to destroy Mattie, or what remained of him.

Then Gilbert smiled, no, smirked, a gesture so full of confidence and enthusiasm, that it completely crushed all of Matt's worries in an instant. It tore right trough his previous facade of indifference, made his ruby-like eyes shine and emitted a certain charm that made him even more likeable in Mattie's opinion.

_Oh my god, I never thought he'd be so damn good-looking, _was what both of them thought right then, the only difference being that Gilbert voiced his thoughts, at least kind of.

"You're pretty cute."

Blood rushed to Mattie's face and his heart seemed to participate in some kind of competition unknown to Mattie, since the treacherous organ was beating faster than ever before.

He lowered his head in a weak attempt to hide his blush and made a very girlish noise.

"I'm not cute!"

"Fuck yes, you are!"

Gilbert laughed and it sounded quite strange to the Canadian. Something like "Kesesesese!"

He'd never heard anyone laugh like that before, it was kind of infectious and addicting, too.

They spent a good quarter of an hour laughing, when Gil suddenly flinched and cursed.

"Damn it, I forgot to lock the fucking door!"

Mattie watched as the silver haired boy turned his head around, just in time to see a tall blond boy step into his room.

"Bruder, was geht hier drinnen vor sich?" From the looks, Matthew guessed that he was Gilbert's younger brother the Prussian had told him so much about.

"Nothing...äh, ich meine...nichts." Mattie smiled as he noticed that Gilbert had used English accidentally. "Worüber hast du dann so laut gelacht?" "Kannst du dich nicht einfach verpissen, Ludwig? Ich brauche keine Gesellschaft, oder willst du jemanden dabeihaben, wenn du dir Pornos ansiehst?" Gilbert had his arms crossed in front of his chest and a positively angry look in his eyes. "In Ordnung, ich gehe ja schon." ("Brother, what is going on inside here?" "...uh, I mean...nothing" "What have you been laughing about so loud, then?" "Can't you just fuck off, Ludwig? I don't need any company, or do you want to have others around while watching porn?" "Alright, I'll go then.") And with this, Ludwig went off, an uncomfortable blush colouring his cheeks.

"This dear brother of mine can get so annoying, it's not even funny anymore."

Mattie nodded in understanding. "I bet mine's worse though." It was Gil's turn to smile. "From what you told me, that may just me possible. But can a hero-complex really beat OCD?"

"Let's call it a draw, then." "The awesome me usually wins, but a draw sounds okay to me. At least for the time being."

From then on, they decided to lead all their conversations via Skype. Over the time, they developed a well-functioning system on how to solve the issue of distance.

If there was a film or a show they wanted to watch or talk about, each of them went to the cinema in his town or bought/rented the DVD from a store. They sent each other links of videos they had enjoyed, same went for music.

Soon they knew exactly what the other person liked or disliked, were nearly able to write a biography about each other. And all the while they had the time of their lives.

The problems they had to deal with in the "outside-world" however, hadn't just vanished. They were still there, threatening the peace and harmony which their daily talks had established.

But Matthew and Gilbert had changed. Changed themselves and each other. What they had was something special, something "awesome", as Gilbert would put it, and they were both aware of that. Neither wanted to ever lose this relationship-thing, whatever it was. It gave them strength to lead more or less victorious battles every day, it kept them going.

In the meantime, between their moments together, Mattie had enough room to start analyzing those strange little emotions that came up whenever he and the Prussian were looking into each other's soul mirrors, when spilled blood met freshly harvested lavender.

He was pretty sure he wasn't imagining things and that he wasn't the only one who had noticed. Gilbert, however, was hard to read and Mattie would bet his everything on the fact that the albino was training that mocking poker-face of his whenever he found the time.

Over the months they spent conversing like this, the silver haired Prussian developed ideas which got gradually weirder and weirder. After the video-link stuff, he came up with some rather intriguing things like card games or chess. Mattie had never before shown any interest in learning that old strategy game, but now Gilbert taught him how to play and – guess what? - he was actually a rather skilled teacher.

So they played for a while, (Mattie was under the impression that he got at least slightly better. He never managed to beat Gil, though. Not even once.) until the albino came up with something new.

Sometimes they even tried to assist each other with their homework, which worked surprisingly well.

After that followed Gil's newest idea – drinking contests.

Both of them had a lot of fun trying to out-drink each other, but Mattie realized soon why exactly Gilbert had suggested those things. He hated losing, so all of his ideas consisted of disciplines he was, indeed, superior in.

The younger didn't gave it much thought, though. As long as they enjoyed themselves and he could be in Gilbert's "presence", he was fine with it and couldn't care less about losing one or another drinking contest. Or three, for that matter. Or four, five...never mind, he lost them all.

But if he was able to help his friend boosting up his self-confidence like this, that meant way more to him than any victory (imagining to see Gilbert's pouting-face, however was very tempting) ever could. Because, as far as he could remember, he had never been of any use to anybody.

Supporting Gilbert, giving his best to make his crush – he'd realized that was definitely a crush on Gil he'd developed there, may it sound logically to an outsider or not, that really didn't matter to him – smirk or laugh or smile, even if it was just the slightest twitch of the silver haired boy' lips, filled him with a warmth and satisfied him in ways he'd never thought possible.

"Want to exchange addresses and phone-numbers?" had been the first question the Canadian asked in one of their more recent conversations.

"Huh, why that?" Gil was seriously confused.

"Firstly, because I want to check how the place where you live looks like. And secondly, because I have a feeling it might be useful later on, in the future." Mattie recited, as if he'd trained for that exact moment in the last few hours, only to make those two sentences sound as convincingly as possible. Which, in fact, he had. "Okay, sounds awesome to me. Why didn't we do that before?"

The blonde shrugged. "I guess there was no reason to."

But now there was. Gilbert would turn 20 in about one and a half weeks and Matthew had decided that he'd sent his best friend a present. He already had bought it, now the only missing information were Gilbert's exact whereabouts.

.

On January 18th, Mattie waited anxiously for Gilbert to log in on his Skype-Account.

He really wanted to find out whether Gil was happy with what he had purchased for him.

That question got easily answered as Gilbert's face appeared on screen, displaying one of his infamous "Awesome-Smirks".

"Thank you Matt, really. Such an awesome gift you sent me there. Spill it, how did you know I love maple syrup?" The Prussian's face was covered with the sugary product, his right hand held a fork that hovered over a plate loaded with pancakes.

"I didn't. It was just a guess. Besides, it's supposed to make people happy, so I thought 'You and me, we are both obviously lacking in the Happiness-Department, so why not get you something to make up for the missing bits'. I'm glad I found something awesome enough to keep up with the rest of your gifts, though!"

Was that a hallucination or had Gilbert's smirk really changed into a somewhat softer, gentler expression?

"Yours was the best one, really. Up until now, pancakes are the only thing I've eaten today, so thanks, really. The rest is not even worth mentioning. Except for maybe the new cage my brother gave me for my pet, the awesome Gilbird!"

A blush crept over Mattie's cheeks, encrimsoning them.

"Oh, and I also wanted to thank you for one more thing." Now it was Gil's turn to take on a hue similar to a tomato's.

"Because of you, I can once again be awesome and spent time with my baby brother and his boyfriend."

Mattie was surprised. How the hell could he have helped Gil with that?

Maybe he was so ugly that he had somehow cured Gilbert's gayness?

No, he didn't think that was even possible. _Stupid Mattie_, his inner voice chided and it was exactly how he felt - stupid.

"May I ask...how I could be of any help in this matter?"

"Well...Since you ask so politely, I think my awesomeness can give you an answer in return."

Gilbert breathed in deeply, as if to prepare himself for a difficult challenge he was to overcome, then continued. "I...well...For quite some time now, you've been the only thing occupying my mind. It was a little annoying, I have to admit, since usually I can only think about my awesome self, but it distracted me from those mean thoughts that kept me from spending time with others.

I enjoyed every minute of our conversation, from the first second on. Without you, I'd be doubtlessly dead by now. You were always there for me, understood me, listened to me...And then, when I first looked into your eyes, I couldn't get your cute face out of my mind anymore...

You are the reason I spent more than one night sleepless and when I slept, you intruded my dreams. But I didn't mind and I still don't, because you're awesome and like, my best friend or at least you were until...argh, long story short, Mattie, I think I kinda sorta fell in love with you."

The Prussian looked away, embarrassed.

Mattie was silent, he just wasn't able to speak right now.

He was completely overwhelmed by his complex feelings towards the other and he still wasn't sure whether he'd really understood Gilbert. Maybe his acouesthesia was disturbed in some way...or he suffered from delusions..._Stop it already, you heard him just fine. He really said it. He said...Gilbert said he loves you...Oh my god, Gil said he loves me!_

Sudden realization hit him, albeit a bit belated.

His crush had just confessed his feelings to him – and he felt the same towards Mattie as the younger did towards him! And – even more important, it wasn't in some bizarre dream he had, but in reality!

A broad smile spread across Mattie's face, he was pretty sure he'd never smiled like this ever before. But he just felt so utterly happy! So warm, fluffy, fuzzy, contended – so loved. Someone actually loved him, cared for him!

_This feels awesome... _The Canadian found no better word to describe it.

Awesome was...well, awesome enough for him.

When Gilbert finally looked up and saw the expression on Mattie's face, he returned the smile, a glint appeared in his red eyes and made them look like very expensive rubies, an even more perfect sanguine than usual.

"You...you love me to?" Hope shone through every syllable.

"Yes...Yes, I do!" The blonde replied.

"Mein Gott...Das ist der beste Geburtstag, den ich je hatte. Thank you for that Mattie, you're awesome!" ("My god, that's the best birthday I've ever had.")

After that, they kept on talking for hours and January 18th would forever be remembered by both of them as one of the most awesome days of their lives.

However, nothing really changed for them.

Yes, they were a couple – as far as that was possible – but they still did the same things they did before Gilbert's confession and his discovery that Mattie as a matter of fact reciprocated his feelings, including the drinking-contests.

One of the funniest things they did was probably planning pranks for each other to pull on their family members on April Fool's.

"And, did it work? Come on, tell me already!" Matthew urged his boyfriend to report his experiences from said day.

Gilbert's smirk gave away his obvious satisfaction.

"Hell yeah, I was awesome! First, I set my alarm-clock so that it'd go off before Luddy's. When I got up I awesomely ran to his room, threw open the door and screamed: "Ludwig, you have to wake up, mom and dad discovered your BDSM-collection!" Since he was all tired and I acted so awesomely convincing - hell I'm one fucking awesome actor - he actually believed it, jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. When he arrived in the kitchen where our parents usually drink their coffee in the morning, he began to apologize frantically for his "inappropriate" behaviour. It took him a full minute to realize the room was completely empty."

Mattie laughed wholeheartedly.

"As I told you before, my parents go on a "Escape-Gilbert's-Awesome-April-Fool's-Pranks-Tour", or "EGAAFPT" for short, every year because they fear my awesome ideas since that one time me, Francis and Antonio tricked them into believing that a terrorist was hiding in our shed. We thought it was incredibly funny until my parents called the police. Then it got expensive for my parents and embarrassing for us. After that, I guess, they had enough of April Fool's for the rest of their boring, unawesome lives."

Then it was Matthew's turn to tell Gilbert about how tricking his family into believing they heard imaginary voices had worked. Pretty well actually.

He'd had a lot of fun tricking his father by pretending he was the "voice of the food", who complained about Arthur always torturing him. Food seemed to be the most fitting role he could play, since that had worked with his brother, too. Alfred was now afraid to eat his burgers, because "they" had told him how they wanted to be his friends and begged him to buy them a cage were they could live.

What had not worked so well was the part where he was supposed to point out it had in fact, all just been a prank for April Fool's. Because no matter how hard he'd tried, no one had noticed him.

When Mattie had finished his story, Gilbert laughed so hard that the Canadian wondered if it was possible to laugh oneself to death after all.

"W-we planned this prank because we thought "hey, w-why not use your invisibility to f-fool them".

Who had thought that it'd end up l-like that! A-awesome!" Gilbert had to struggle to speak coherently, because fits of laughter threatened to interrupt him from time to time.

" From now on, let's do this together every year! We make one hell of awesome accomplices! Fuck, we should try a bank raid next time! And then, if we're successful we'll go for world domination! And then I can be world president, everyone has to address me with "your Awesomeness" and I can finally make Prussia return to the map as a real country, no I'll rename the world! What do you think about "The Awesome Planet Of Prussia?" awesome idea, right?"

Mattie smirked, a very rare sight. Gilbert however, loved the expression because it destroyed the shy and frightened image his boyfriend had involuntary established for himself completely, made him look sly and even a bit evil.

"I agree, but only if I get to be the vice-president."

"Sure, you're my slightly less than me but still pretty awesome boyfriend after all!"

And so the talk went on for a while, the both of them coming up with more and more insane ideas for laws they'd install in that imaginary future of theirs.

On the 1st of July, Mattie was woken up by the noise of his cellphone ringing.

Sleepily, he grabbed the device and answered it.

"This is Matthew speaking, eh."

"I know, the owner is usually the one to answer their cellphone. Oh, and by the way: Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag Mattie!" ("Happy birthday, Mattie!")

"T-thanks, Gilbert." Matt was glad that Gilbert couldn't see him, he had blushed furiously.

"So, how are you? I woke you up, didn't I? At least that means that I was the first one to congratulate you!" _And probably the last, _the Canadian thought, but remained silent. To be honest, he was happy that someone had remembered his birthday and that it was Gilbert, the person he loved most, made the whole thing even better.

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks." "Yeah, you better be. No one should be in a bad mood on their birthday, especially not you! I actually wanted to suggest something: Why don't you just skip school today and spend it talking and celebrating with the awesome me? Its your 18th birthday, after all. Over here, you'd be legal now!"

He didn't waste another thought on school and happily agreed to Gil's idea.

"Let me just get some clothes and breakfast, okay?" "'kay, but hurry up. I love you, Mattie."

"I love you too."

The blonde grabbed unused clothes from his cupboard and ran to the kitchen to get some toast.

Mattie had to pay for his clothing himself, so he didn't own all that much. Same went for school stuff and about everything else in Matthew's possession. Where Matthew got his money from? He'd once had a part-time job, but when his boss had forgotten to pay him, he quit (more like went home and never came back. Not that anyone cared enough to do something about it) and now, well, Arthur gave Alfred money once a month and it was a lot, so that no one noticed when some of it went missing. Or maybe Arthur thought one of his pixies or fairies were the thief. Funny how his father had imaginary friends but didn't remember his own flesh and blood.

_No time for pancakes today if I want to see Gil as soon as possible _was his reasoning.

Fife minutes later he sat in front of his computer and greeted a smiling Prussian.

"Good morning, Mattie." "Hi Gil."

"So, are you ready for your birthday present?" "Sure." he answered casually, but on the inside he felt like hugging his computer.

Gilbert disappeared from screen for a moment and when he came back, he had his slender fingers wrapped around an electric guitar.

"You know how to play? Why didn't you ever tell?" the younger boy was surprised.

"I taught myself. That's quite a funny story, actually. When I bought this thing, it was meant to help me with annoying my family. So I taught myself how to not play it. And I ended up learning how to play it correctly in the process. Awesome, aren't I?" "How do you not play a guitar? If you want to make it sound awful, just don't learn anything at all." Matthew was confused.

"No, I wanted to find out how to make it sound as annoying and screeching and loud as possible. So I had to first read the manual and then look it up on the internet."

"You truly are awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt." Mattie was amazed. His silver-haired boyfriend never ceased to surprise him.

Gilbert laughed. "Keep trying how to correctly pronounce my last name and eventually you will succeed. Maybe."

"Is my present a song, eh?" The Canadian asked, attempting to switch topics, but also curious which one it would be.

"Yeah, obviously. And now listen to the awesomeness that is me, because I practiced this one really hard to make it's awesomeness rival mine." _I guess what he really meant was "to make your present as great as possible". _

While Gilbert played and sang, his total attention was on the instrument but during the chorus, he looked up, into Mattie's eyes, his own red ones shining with deep emotions.

Matthew knew the song, it was _Niece Piece Of Art _by _Fm Static. _It was a nice song he'd taken quite a liking to and he turned up the volume whenever he listened to it. Also it had probably been one of the songs he'd told Gilbert about.

_It's great that he remembered._

When he was finished, Mattie found it difficult to hold back the tears threatening to roll down his cheeks.

"Was it that bad? Fuck, I-" The Canadian interrupted him.

"No, it was great. Thank you Gil, thank you so very much, eh." And now the tears flowed freely, leaving wet lines on his face, dropping from his chin and falling on his blue jeans where they left dark blue spots. He felt like a weak crybaby and hoped that the Prussian wouldn't judge him for this.

_I'm sure he never cries. Maybe he sulks from time to time, but he's not the type for crying. He looks like someone who bottles all of his anger and pain up deep inside, holding grudges against people and plotting revenge. _

Gilbert waited till Mattie had calmed down and then said: "You know, that wasn't the only present I have for you. Whether or not you want the second one is your decision though."

He picked up two pieces of printed paper from his desk and waved them in front of his web cam.

"Are those-"

"Tickets, yes. I told you how I passed all my exams some time ago, right? So, as a reward for my graduation, I got these from my parents. They were so happy that I made it and also that I got accepted at the university where I wanted to study at. Engineering and Mathematics, the usual stuff. They said I could decide what I wanted and so I told them that a trip to Canada would make me very happy. It confused them at first but then they finally agreed. Since we're quite a wealthy family, they booked them so that I can decide when I want to use them, both the ticket to Canada and the one back to Germany. That means if you want me to, I can just fly over and pay a visit."

While Gilbert talked, Matthew's mouth fell open and he stared at the screen of his computer disbelievingly.

"You...You really want to visit me? You could have chosen a car or something equally worthy. Why did you-?"

"Are you really that dumb? You are the only reason I made it through this past year in the first place! Because of you, I'm still alive and passed my exams. Because of you, I'm finally able to socialize with others again! You are my boyfriend, the person that means the most on this whole goddamn planet to me, I love you! Why wouldn't want to come over to see you?"

To that question, the blonde had no answer.

"So, do you want me to or not?"

Still speechless, Mattie nodded.

"I didn't hear you."

"YES, I WANT YOU TO!" the usually quiet Mattie almost screamed.

A bit calmer, he added "Why do you even ask? I thought I made clear that I love you."

"Great, then tell me when-"

That was the moment someone tore open the door to Gilbert's room and walked in.

Two boys, to be exact. A tall blonde and a slightly smaller brunette.

Gilbert flinched and wheeled around. "What the fuck? Francis and Antonio? What are you two doing here?"

"Well, mon ami, we thought that it would be nice to check on you. It's been a whole month since we last saw you at school and we were worried-" the blonde, probably Francis said. "There was absolutely no reason for you to be worried about me! I'm 20 fucking years old and can look for myself perfectly fine!" The silver-haired Prussian seemed quite upset about their unheralded visit.

"Is that how you should treat old friends?" the brunette, Antonio asked, only mildly surprised about Gilbert's rudeness.

Gil shrugged. "It's how I treat people that intrude into my house without asking me beforehand."

"Your brother let us in. He seemed to have no problem with it, he actually looked like he was happy. "It's been a while since you two visited Gilbert, he spends most of his time alone in his room with his computer, talking to himself. Come in, he's upstairs." That's what Ludwig said."

Gilbert looked like he didn't care. At all.

"I like being alone. Besides, I'm not talking to myself, I'm -" This time it was Francis's turn to interrupt Gilbert. "Talking to that guy on your computer, who is watching us right now? Gilbert, who is that?" Antonio looked at the screen. "Yeah Gil, who is he? He looks cute!"

The change in Gilbert's behaviour was immediate. Suddenly he seemed to be a lot calmer and a gentle expression replaced the one of annoyance he had placed on his face since they'd entered his realm.

"That's Mattie. Matthew Williams, my boyfriend from Canada. Mattie, those two are my old friends Francis and Antonio." he introduced them.

"Hi." Mattie greeted shyly, his eyes darting from one of Gil's friends to the other.

"Hey." they answered simultaneously. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" "No."

"Gil, don't tell me you don't already know it." Francis stared at him with wide, surprised eyes.

"Know what?"

"That Antonio and I are a couple." The Frenchman pulled the Spaniard closer and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"You- You're joking, right?" _I can't believe it _was painted on Gilbert's forehead in bold letters but with invisible colour.

"No. You see, we thought that was the reason you decided to chase us out of this house the last time we visited you."

"Stop staring Gil. I'll repeat it so that even you'll be able to understand-"

"I'm not dumb, just...shocked. No, that's not the right word. Argh- fuck this, let's settle for "shocked", alright? But, congratulations, you two."

"Thanks." "Yeah, thanks Gil."

Then Francis's attention wandered over to Gil's computer and he asked with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes: "Why don't you invite chèr Mathieu over, we could all have fun together."

"NO!" that came from both Gilbert and Matthew.

"Definitely not. And besides, I'm going to visit him in Canada soon."

"Oh, too bad. But if you don't want to...Was Mathieu the reason while you stopped to torture Roderich and Eliza?" Francis enquired.

"Kinda, yes. But guys, let's talk about this later. You see, it's Mattie's birthday today and I promised him to spend it with him and I intend to keep that promise." At that, he threw an affectionate look to his screen and, in turn, to Matthew.

They smiled. "So you're serious about him?" Antonio wanted to know.

"Yeah, obviously. Why else would I want to meet him in real life?"

"You two never-" "No. But as I said already, let's talk later. Tomorrow maybe. I'll call you two and we can go get drunk like we did in the good old times, 'kay? And guys...I'm sorry about...the whole thing...yeah,so...sorry."

From the looks on their faces and the clumsy way Gilbert acted, Mattie guessed that Gilbert apologizing for something was something special.

"You really have changed. But okay, we'll wait for your call. Bye then." And with that, Antonio and Francis were gone.

When he heard the door close downstairs, Gilbert sighed. "Finally", he breathed and slumped back in his chair.

"They seemed okay, eh." Matthew commented.

"They are quite cool actually and I'm sort of glad I get a chance to explain everything to them. If they hadn't come, I'd been much to proud to go and talk to them by myself. Antonio is great, but Francis can be a real pervert." "I noticed."

Both of them laughed and it was as if they hadn't been interrupted in the first place.

"So, when do you want me to come over? You know, for you I'd pack my bags and jump on the next available plane, you only need to say so."

"Maybe next week? After the graduation ceremony? I could pick you up from the airport, you only need to give me all the information, flight number and hotel address and that stuff."

"No problem. Next week then."

The nervousness was worse than it had been before they had talked via Skype the first time.

Now they would really meet, face to face.

However, there was one important difference: There was no doubt about the fact that he trusted Gilbert completely, he wasn't afraid that the Prussian would hurt him any more.

Matthew waited at the airport for the arrival of the plane his boyfriend would be in.

_What will it be like? I mean, I know him, we talk a lot and all, but what will it be like to stand next to him, to be so close to a person that means everything to me? Maybe he will even kiss me?_

_Maple, I hope I don't screw up..._

Of course Mattie couldn't know it, but Gil worried about the exact same things.

_I hope things will turn out fine._

Fifteen minutes later, Mattie finally spotted a flash of bright, silver hair between the mix of brown, black, blond and red.

He timidly waved his hands and was relieved when he saw that the person – it was indeed Gilbert - had seen him and waved back.

The Prussian rose his free hand, the other was occupied with his black luggage which he put on the ground when he arrived at the bench Matthew was seated at.

"Hi Mattie!" his smirk in place, he sat down next to the Canadian.

"Hi Gil!" said Canadian answered and turned his head to face his boyfriend.

And then Gilbert looked right into his eyes, seemingly looking for some sign of fear or discomfort.

When he found nothing, he sighed relieved. That meant he would do what he had wanted for so long.

Mattie was surprised when suddenly two strong arms pulled him in for a gentle yet tight hug. The feeling of surprise however, was quickly replaced by one of warmth and deep affection, he relaxed at the touch.

How long had it been since someone last hugged him? A very long time, so much was sure.

Gilbert whispered something in Mattie's ear, his hot breath tickling on the blonde's skin.

"You are even cuter than I thought." As usual, comments like this made Mattie's face go bright red.

Gilbert never failed to make him blush.

"And you are even handsomer than I thought." Mattie blurted out. And blushed even more.

A soft chuckle reached his ears. "Thank you, Mattie."

He nodded and tightened the hug. He wanted to be as close to the Prussian as possible.

The silver-haired young man smelled so nice... Mattie inhaled deeply to take in as much of that smell as possible. Whatever aftershave he used, Mattie wanted it too, so then he could use it when Gilbert went back to Germany. It would be a great reminder of how it had felt to be close to someone who loved him.

_Don't think about that now! He said he'd stay at least for two weeks, that's a lot of time you can spend with him!_

Gilbert gently pushed Matthew back, so that he had a better view on his face.

"I love you." he whispered, voice heavy with emotions, before he placed his hands on the Canadian's shoulders and leaned in closer.

Matthew knew what was going to happen but didn't prevent it. He wanted that kiss, wanted it so bad that he forgot all about his shyness and how he was supposed to be the one who made sure that things didn't develop so quickly. Or maybe he just didn't care. They knew each other for nearly a year now and were a couple since January, he trusted Gilbert, he loved Gilbert, there was nothing his conscience or any other part of his body could do to convince him otherwise.

"I love you too." was all he managed to say before Gilbert's lips met his in a gentle kiss.

_How good that feels...I don't want to ever let go of him..._

It was Mattie's first kiss, but he was already addicted. He knew that only one of these kisses would never satisfy him.

The Prussian instinctively wrapped his arms around the smaller Canadian protectively, as if he could feel how desperate Mattie was for his touches, his warmth, his presence.

Finally there was someone who needed, wanted him in his life and was obviously determined to show it to him. He sure as hell wouldn't ever risk this connection between them. It was too precious, too meaningful and important to lose it.

Slowly, they added more pressure to the touch of their lips, intensifying the kiss, intensifying the overwhelming feeling of completeness, of belonging right there, into each other's arms.

And when Gilbert's tongue demanded entrance, Mattie didn't hesitate and opened his lips.

It felt weird at first but Mattie thought that he could get used to it. If it was about Gilbert, he was determined to get used to everything.

Finally, they parted for air, both too comfortable with the reigning silence to break it.

They sat there, in the gigantic entrance hall of the airport, just enjoying each other's company and watching the busy people around them hurrying to catch their flights and the arriving people who left either alone or with their families and friends.

"So...how are Ludwig and his boyfriend?" Mattie asked, when he saw a tall blonde guy who reminded him of Gilbert's younger brother.

"They're fine. Feliciano invited him over to Italy for the holidays. What about Alfred and his burgers?"

Mattie laughed.

"Dad threw them away and now Al is angry and doesn't want to talk to him. Can you imagine that he named them? Freaky, isn't it?"

Gilbert agreed.

"Talking about food always makes me hungry. Want to go to a restaurant? We could order pancakes with maple syrup."

"That's an awesome idea, Mattie. Let's see who can eat more."

"And after that, we can go to your hotel and leave your stuff there. Without the luggage it'll be much easier to show you around town."

So the silver-haired Prussian and the blond Canadian got up, one of Gilbert's hands pulling the luggage, the other one was in Matthew's grip, fingers entwined.

"We have a plan?" Gilbert Beilschmidt asked curiously.

"We have a plan." Matthew Williams confirmed and together they left to go find a restaurant.

I know that the end isn't all that good, but whatever... I thought "Why not stop there?" Hope you liked it! Liebe Grüße, Stormy-chan59


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